The Wounded
' |image= |series= |production=40274-186 |producer(s)= |story=Stuart Chamo, Sara Chamo and Cy Chemak |script=Jeri Taylor |director=Chip Chapman |imdbref=tt0708825 |guests=Bob Gunton as Capt. Benjamin Maxwell, Rosalind Chao as Keiko O'Brien, Marc Alaimo as Gul Macet, Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien, Marco Rodríguez as Telle, Time Winters as Daro, John Hancock as Adm. Haden |previous_production=Data's Day |next_production=Devil's Due |episode=TNG S04E12 |airdate=28 January 1991 |previous_release=Data's Day |next_release=Devil's Due |story_date(s)=Stardate 44429.6 (2367) |previous_story=Data's Day |next_story=Devil's Due }} =Summary= While patrolling near Cardassian space, the Enterprise is suddenly attacked by a Cardassian vessel. Captain Picard is able to convince its commander, Gul Macet, to stand down, and learns that Macet's attack was in retaliation for a Federation ship attacking a Cardassian science station two days prior. Picard confirms this with Starfleet, and is told that the starship Phoenix, commanded by Captain Benjamin Maxwell, was responsible for the prior attack and orders the Enterprise to locate the vessel. Picard offers Gul Macet and two of his officers to come aboard as observers to maintain the fragile peace between the Federation and Cardassia. As the Enterprise looks for signs of the Phoenix, Picard discovers that transporter chief Miles O'Brien was a former crewmember under Maxwell on the Rutledge during the Cardassian war, and offers him to join in a briefing for Gul Macet. There, O'Brien reveals he still harbors some resentment for the Cardassians, revealing that Maxwell's family was killed by Cardassians. Gul Macet infers that Maxwell must be out for revenge, but O'Brien denies this. The Enterprise locates the Phoenix on an intercept course for a Cardassian freighter, but they would not be able to reach there in time. Picard lets Gul Macet relay the position of the Phoenix to a closer Cardassian cruiser, but Maxwell's tactics are able to overwhelm it, and both the cruiser and freighter are lost, killing over 650 Cardassians. Shortly thereafter, the Enterprise rendezvous with the Phoenix, and Maxwell transports aboard, greeting O'Brien as an old friend. Alone, Maxwell asserts to Picard that the Cardassians are re-arming themselves; the science station was a cover for a military base, and the freighters are carrying weapons. Picard convinces Maxwell that this is not proper behavior for a Starfleet captain, and gains his assurance that he will pilot the Phoenix directly back to Federation space. However, en route, the Phoenix breaks course towards another freighter. Maxwell is poised to destroy the freighter, demanding that the Federation officers be allowed aboard to see proof of the Cardassian's deception. The Enterprise crew notes that the freighter is equipped with a field that blocks their scans. Picard prepares to fire on the Phoenix as to maintain the peace with the Cardassians, but O'Brien requests to beam over to the Phoenix, using a transporter trick to sneak past its shield, and talk to Maxwell. Aboard the Phoenix, O'Brien and Maxwell reminisce about their time aboard the Rutledge and share in drinking heavily and singing songs from their common Irish ancestry. Eventually, O'Brien is able to convince Maxwell there is no way that he can win the current scenario, and Maxwell agrees. He transfers his command to his first officer and the Phoenix starts its return to Federation space, while Maxwell returns to the Enterprise with O'Brien, to be held there pending return to Starfleet. As the Cardassian observers are returned to their ship, Picard cautions them that while Maxwell's actions may have been improper, his fears about the Cardassian's intentions appear to be true; the so-called "science station" was located in a strategic military position but with little scientific value, and the fields on the freighter were specifically designed to block Federation scanning. He cautions Gul Macet that the Federation will be watching the Cardassians very closely in the future. =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # Data says about halfway into the show that they located the Phoenix and will intercept it in 22 minutes. Havent they already located it before that? What have they been doing for the last half-hour? The Phoenix may have changed location in the meantime. # When O'Brien asks permission to beam over to the Phoenix, in response to Maxwell's threat to destroy a Cardassian frieghter, He responds to Picard's comment about the raised shields by describing a method of beaming through shields, even though Gul Macet is present and listening to everything. Perhaps O'Brien is doing this to demonstrate the Federation's determination to keep the peace by stoping Maxwell. Equipment Oddities # Picard not using the prefix code to deactivate the weapons on the Phoenix. He doesn't want to leave them defenceless, in case another Cardassian warship arrives - assuming Maxwell's people hadn't reprogrammed the weapons systems to ignore deactivation orders transmitted from outside (See Nit Central entry 4). Nit Central # Aaron Dotter on Monday, March 05, 2001 - 4:49 pm: When they were chasing the Phoenix, why were they only at Warp 4? Why didn't Macet insist on going Warp 9.5? The Phoenix may have been travelling slowly to conserve fuel, and prevent wear on the engines. # Why did the Cardies need the transponder codes of the Phoenix to find it? Cant they just see it? Or did they just want them to disable the shields? They wanted the codes to make sure they were chasing the real ship instead of a decoy. # I was surprised that the Phoenix took out the Cardassian warship in one volley even with its shields up. The shields may have been down. # Instead of trying some sort of risky transport maneuver, why didn't they use the transponder codes to lower the shields like the Cardies had just done? And why stop there? Why not just take over the whole tactical system? Maxwell's people could have reprogrammed the computer to ignore transponder code instructions transmitted from another ship. # Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 4:30 am: At the beginning of the show there is a reference to "The Cardassian Sector." I thought a sector was an area of space 20 light years by 20 light years by 20 light years? Is Cardassian space really that small? Possibly a reference to the area of space containing Cardassia Prime. # The Cardassians must have worked overtime to improve their warship capabilities between this episode and the premiere of Deep Space Nine. The Enterprise and the Phoenix make pretty short work of the Cardi warships in this episode. Makes one wonder why the spoonheads were so formidable during the war? Maybe their tactics allowed them to compensate the the lower quality of their equipment. (There is a precedent for this. During the Blitzkrieg of 1940, French tanks had better guns and thicker armour than German tanks, but the German tank divisions had better tactics, which allowed them to achieve victory.) # Why does Picard think he would have to tow the Phoenix if he puts Captain Maxwell in the Brig? Doesn't the Phoenix have a first officer? Couldn't Picard send some of his people over to control the ship? Their loyalty to Maxwell could trigger resentment to the Enterprise crew. # Miles beams over to the Phoenix and apparently walks through the Bridge to get to Captain Maxwell's Ready Room, but nobody thinks to inform Maxwell that someone has beamed aboard and no one is accompanying Miles as he enters the Captain's Ready room? The Phoenix crew understand why he has beamed aboard. # Mike Ram on Thursday, January 03, 2002 - 1:12 am: Does Maxwell's ready room seem a lot bigger than Picard's? Especially considering the Phoenix is half the size of the Enterprise. Looks can be decieving! # Brian Fitzgerald on Thursday, January 03, 2002 - 8:07 pm: After Maxwell implores Picard to board the Cardassian supply ship, and then threatens to blow it up, O’Brien asks Picard to let him talk to Maxwell. When Riker is skeptical, O’Brien says the Phoenix has a "high energy sensor system," that he can beam through when a window opens during the systems’ recycling. Doesn’t he mean "high energy shield system?" 'I thought that the high energy sensor system was what interfered with the shields, and the shields had to go through a short low power part in the cycle so an not to interfere with the sensors or vice-versa. ' =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation